NHL: Goldwater Institute officially suing the City of Glendale over Coyotes Sale

It's official.

The Goldwater Institute, the independent Arizona government watchdog, has filed a lawsuit against the City of Glendale over the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer.  The Goldwater Institute claims the agreement violates two prohibitions of the Arizona Constitution, which requires that no Arizona government “shall ever give or loan its credit in aid of, or make any donation or grant, by subsidy or otherwise, to any individual, association, or corporation. . .” To read more about the Goldwater lawsuit, click here.

Among other things, the Goldwater Institute claims that the Phoenix Coyotes are "perennial money losers", and pose an enormous risk to the taxpayers of the Arizona city.  This could very well be the beginning of the end for NHL hockey in Arizona.

In other news, Dave Wheeler, columnist for the Winnipeg Sun claims that if the NHL returns to Winnipeg, the Jets name will not be used.  He claims to have "inside information" that a name, jersey, and logo have already been designed and are ready to go for when the NHL returns to Winnipeg.  I cannot say that I am the biggest fan of the name change, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

Exclusive video of Gary Bettman reacting  to the news of the lawsuit. 

Bettman heads to Arizona, Hulsizer's offer "final."

Commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly are in Glendale, Arizona today, presumingly doing all they can to save the Coyotes deal with Hulsizer.  This is truly a last ditch effort to keep the team in Arizona, despite sparse crowds, losing millions of dollars, and a slumping local economy.


Since the NHL bought the Coyotes a year ago, the club has lost in the neighborhood of  $30 million.  One wonders how much patience the NHL has left, regarding this seemingly never ending saga.  Meanwhile Hulsizer has gone on record saying his offer to buy the club is "final", and he will not accept a compromise from the NHL or the City of Glendale.


It will certainly be interesting to see what transpires in the coming days.  It has been reported that the Coyotes, the NHL, and the City of Glendale want to renegotiate the contract with Hulsizer, asking him to accept a reworked deal, with possible changes including: the City of Glendale reducing the amount it contributes through a bond sale, from $100 million to $70 million; the NHL reducing its $170-million asking price for the franchise; and Hulsizer increasing his contribution from its initial $70 million.


Meanwhile, the Goldwater Institute has stated that any meetings between the institute and the City of Glendale would have to be held publicly with members of the media invited as stipulated by CEO Darcy Olsen in a letter issued on Monday.  I will publish further updates when they become available.

It's just a matter of time...

The gong show in Arizona continues.  It appears the City of Glendale, where the Phoenix Coyotes play, is contemplating a lawsuit against the Goldwater Institute, an independent government watchdog for devaluing the price of bonds.  It appears the negative publicity has scared away many potential investors.

In response to the legal threat, the Goldwater Institute, in more words or less, told the Coyotes and the City of Glendale to go fuck themselves.  The prospect of the NHL returning to Winnipeg has never looked better. All we can do is sit and wait patiently.  It's not a question of "if", but "when" our beloved Jets return.  I'll be celebrating at Portage and Main when the inevitable announcement is made.

For more on the "Gongdale Show" click on the video below: